A Messy Messiah

Posted on Dec 14, 2015 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:41-42).

The New Testament is the story of a family: the family of Jesus. God became a part of our family so that we could become a part of his. And just as God used two ordinary women named Ruth and Mary to make a lasting impact on the world, God can use you to make a lasting impression on others by your living for him and loving him and doing his will.

{ 52 Weeks with Jesus }

Experts say that virtually 100 percent of us are descended from one royal person or another. That each person can be part of a royal family on earth sounds impressive… until we realize that death is the great equalizer. Royal blood counts for nothing when it comes to being part of God’s royal family. Riches, wealth, and worldly honor will not gain us one square inch of heaven.

The good news is that the blood that gains us acceptance in God’s family is the blood of an innocent, slain Lamb of God. Through the death of Christ—and his resurrection—God has opened the doors to the greatest palace of them all… a heavenly home for all who come to him in faith. There we dwell not in the presence of just a king, but the King of kings.

Many in the Jewish community in Jesus’s day didn’t recognize their messiah. He wasn’t what they expected a messiah to look and act like. Not only were there unsavory characters in his lineage, but there were also Gentiles. Women Gentiles at that. Tamar was a Canaanite; Rahab was an Amorite; and Ruth was a Moabitess. But in God’s design, none of that mattered.

We all get into the human family—the “Adam” family—the same way Jesus did: by physical, biological birth. However, when it comes to God’s family—the Jesus family—we have to be reborn spiritually. By being “born again,” we enter into a new family altogether. In this new family, we are invited to make a lasting impact on others as we live for Christ daily.

May we always remember we are, like Adam, only dust. But also, like Christ, we are sons of God and co-heirs of a grand kingdom.

Christ the Son of God

Became a son of Adam

That we, sons of Adam,

Might become sons of God.